“Ssshhhhh….silence!” The judge shouted.
It was a courtroom, but not at all like the ones they show in movies. It was dirty, dingy, full of old furnitures and endless piles of yellowed documents. The mood in the room was gloomy and…
“Deadly boring! Don’t you think?” Riya asked, with a huge yawn.
“It’s a court! What did you expect, DJ and vodka shots??” Deb shook his head in amusement.
“Just look at the pot-belly of the Judge! He’s hilarious…” They both broke into a giggle.
A lawyer seated in the front row came and whispered in their ears,” Don’t talk and laugh so much. The Judge will notice and postpone your date.”
Well now that was something serious. Riya and Deb were silent. For extra precaution, Riya put her handbag between them, to create some distance. This again brought another round of silent giggling.
“Next are you.” The lawyer called. The couple stood up. The Judge was bored and uninterested. He had only one question to ask,” Whatever is written here, is written out of your free will or not?” They nodded simultaneously. That was it, approved by the honorable Judge and the legal system of India.
After coming out of the claustrophobic room, Riya’s mood was visibly better. But she was not satisfied. “No questions?? The Judge didn’t ask anything!! Is it so common? It was all over in 10 minutes!”
Deb started laughing. “It matters to nobody, sweetheart. Now, what do you say, Chinese? Tung Fong?”
Oh yeah. The mutual divorce went really well.
Yes, I guess – the way I see the characters now, it might now be distant reality too – both should feel free and not trapped in a marriage –